''The Song of Love'' (also known as ''Le chant d'amour'' or ''Love Song'') is a 1914 painting by Italian
metaphysical painter Giorgio de Chirico
Giuseppe Maria Alberto Giorgio de Chirico ( , ; 10 July 1888 – 20 November 1978) was an Italian
artist and writer born in Greece. In the years before World War I, he founded the '' scuola metafisica'' art movement, which profoundly influ ...
. It is one of the most famous works by Chirico and an early example of the
surrealist
Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to ...
style, though it was painted ten years before the movement was "founded" by
André Breton in 1924.
It depicts an outdoor architectural setting similar to other works by Chirico at this time. This time however, the main focus is a small wall on which is mounted a
Greek sculpted head and a surgeon's glove. Below it is a green ball. On the horizon is the outline of a locomotive, an image that recurs several times during this period of Chirico's career.
Metaphysical art movement
The metaphysical art movement was created by Chirico and Carlo Carrà, who had previously been a
futurist
Futurists (also known as futurologists, prospectivists, foresight practitioners and horizon scanners) are people whose specialty or interest is futurology or the attempt to systematically explore predictions and possibilities abo ...
. These paintings would depict Italian city squares that are unnaturally void of people. These city squares would often include a grouping of objects that provide a strange juxtaposition. With these driving elements in his paintings, Chirico created a dreamlike reality that was beyond the physical world. Aspects like the strange grouping of object in ''The Song of Love'' is what André Breton and the surrealists looked up to when organizing their movement. The actual art movement only lasted the six months Chirico and Carrà worked together, metaphysical art is the movement associated with all of Chirico's work after 1911.
The painting
Chirico presents a bust of a classical sculpture, a rubber ball, and a rubber glove on a canvas in between some buildings with a train passing by in a scene that spurs a sense of confusion. The bust could be a representation of Chirico's love of classical art and a disappearing age. Chirico uses the rubber glove as a mold of a hand that implies the void of human presence. The buildings set up a scene that is reminiscent of the cityscapes of Chirico's past.
["Giorgio De Chirico The Song of Love Paris, June-July 1914." Lee Bontecou. Untitled. 1959 , MoMA. Accessed December 09, 2018. https://www.moma.org/collection/works/80419.]
References
Museum of Modern Art*''The Mystery of Magritte'' CD-rom
{{DEFAULTSORT:Song of Love, The
1914 paintings
Paintings by Giorgio de Chirico
Paintings in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art (New York City)
Surrealist paintings
Trains in art